How to Write a Moving Company Review

In last week’s post, we discussed the 5 reasons to read (and write) moving company reviews.

Reviews are extremely helpful (in more than just the moving company industry), because they provide consumers with valuable information they can use to make a decision.

These decisions can be as important as choosing a crew to move your possessions across the country or as trivial as deciding where to eat dinner. This week, we’re going to help you with writing a moving company review after you’ve already hired someone to do the job.

Your moving company review can be either positive (you approved of their work) or negative (you didn’t approve of their work), but it should always be a good review (i.e. helpful and well-written). It can be tempting to simply say “They did a great job!” and leave it at that, but putting a bit more effort into crafting your review will not only help other people in their decision-making process, it will also provide valuable feedback to the moving company.

Be Studious

Do your homework and read other customer reviews first. Sites such as Angie’s List, Yelp, My Moving Reviews, and MovingCompanyReviews.com are all great places to see what other people had to say. If you had a terrible experience with a moving company but all of the reviews are positive (or vice versa), that might be something you want to address in your review. If all of the negative reviews are more than a few years old, you might want to state that the company appears to have changed its act recently and encourage others to give them a shot.

Be Respectful

Moving companies have what is known as a high “trust gap,” meaning they have to overcome a lot of hurdles in order to gain your trust and get hired for your move. So when that trust is broken, you usually feel hurt and angry.

Your anger may be well-deserved, but resist the urge to type in all caps, use too many exclamation points, or use profanity or derogatory language. These types of reviews are not just unhelpful, they may actually cause others to not trust your opinion. Wait until you’ve calmed down before posting your review, then stick to the facts.

Be Thorough

Typing “great company, did good work” as a moving company review is definitely positive, but doesn’t give readers any information. Include helpful details like whether the crew arrived on time, how careful they were with your furniture, the speed at which they worked, their attitude over the phone, etc. If the moving crew went over the top and did something remarkable (good or bad), mention that, too.

Details like this give customers clear ideas about what they can expect and also give the moving company tips on what works (or what doesn’t). List the facts that you would want to know as a potential customer and leave out the useless tidbits. Most review sites restrict your word count; use that space wisely for the words that will really get your point across.

Be Fair

Moving your entire household to a new location is inherently stressful (though moving companies can alleviate some of that stress), and sometimes an unpleasant situation just leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Before you mention what went wrong during a move, first decide whether it was an unavoidable accident or truly caused by the moving crew’s neglect. If a rickety, old desk breaks or rain delays your move, that’s not the moving company’s fault.

In addition, listing the pros and cons of the move will make your review seem more impartial and therefore carry more weight with a consumer. It will also give valuable feedback to the moving company regarding the things they do well and the things they need to change (because you do know they’re going to read your review, right?).

Be Forgiving

In the event that you have an unfortunate moving experience that results in a negative review, try not to hold a grudge. No, that doesn’t mean you have to hire that company for your next move, it just means that you shouldn’t get into any nasty back-and-forth over the online review boards.

If the moving company apologizes and offers to make the situation right, accept it and call it a day. If they ignore you (or, worse, respond rudely or insensitively), let their response speak toward their reputation. The rest of the internet will see it, and they won’t get much business after such a response anyway.

So, after all the furniture has been placed and the boxes have been unpacked, but while the move is still fresh in your mind, visit one of the many moving company review boards and tell the world about your experience. The customer (and the moving company) will be glad you did.